ITC Claim Last Date FY 2025-26: Key Deadlines & Rules
November 1, 2026 · GST
Learn the ITC claim last date FY 2025-26 under section 16(4), credit note limits, key return deadlines, and GSTR-2B reconciliation rules.
The ITC claim last date FY 2025-26 is November 30, 2026, or the date the annual return is filed, if that is earlier. The same cut-off applies to credit notes for FY 2025-26 supplies. For many businesses, though, the practical window closes earlier, because ITC is taken through a return. This countdown checklist sets out the law as of November 1, 2026, the key dates and the common mistakes.
ITC claim last date FY 2025-26: what the law says
Section 16(4) time limit for invoices and debit notes
Section 16(4) of the CGST Act says a registered person cannot take input tax credit on an invoice or debit note after the thirtieth day of November following the end of the financial year to which it pertains, or after furnishing the relevant annual return, whichever is earlier. For FY 2025-26 (April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026), that date is November 30, 2026.
For a debit note, the year that counts is the year of the debit note itself, not the year of the original invoice. So a debit note dated March 2026 for GST of INR 18,000/- on a FY 2024-25 invoice must be claimed in a return filed by November 30, 2026, even though the deadline for the original invoice has passed.
Credit note time limit: GST section 34(2)
Under section 34(2), a supplier must declare a credit note for a supply made in FY 2025-26 not later than November 30, 2026, or the date of furnishing the annual return, whichever is earlier. The credit note must be declared in the return for the month in which it is issued.
Since October 1, 2025, if the recipient has availed ITC on the supply, the supplier's output tax is reduced only after the recipient reverses that ITC. For diamond and jewellery traders who settle year-end volume discounts through credit notes, both sides of the transaction therefore need to act before the cut-off.
Does the November 1, 2026 amendment change the deadline?
No. Notification 03/2026-CT brings sections 153 to 155 of the Finance Act, 2026 into force from November 1, 2026. Section 154 adds a new ground to section 34(1) for discounts covered by section 15(3)(b), but section 34(2) and its time limit are not amended. The wider changes are explained in GST changes from November 1, 2026 on discounts, scrap RCM and TDS .
Countdown: which return is your last window?
ITC is taken when it is claimed in GSTR-3B, so what matters is the return filed by the cut-off, not the book entry. The table shows the practical position.
Date
What happens
Who it affects
October 31, 2026
Last day to issue FY 2025-26 credit notes that can go into the October 2026 return
Monthly filers issuing credit notes
November 11, 2026
October 2026 GSTR-1 due, so supplier invoices uploaded by this date reach the buyer's GSTR-2B
Suppliers of monthly filers
November 13, 2026
Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF) closes for October 2026
QRMP suppliers
November 14, 2026
October 2026 GSTR-2B made available, provided the September 2026 GSTR-3B has been filed
Monthly filing recipients
November 20, 2026
October 2026 GSTR-3B due, the last regular return to claim FY 2025-26 ITC
Monthly filers
November 30, 2026
Hard stop under sections 16(4) and 34(2). A late October 2026 GSTR-3B filed on or before this date still counts, with interest under section 50 and late fee under section 47, provided all earlier GSTR-3B returns have been filed.
Everyone
GSTR-2B is now generated in sequence: if the September 2026 GSTR-3B is still unfiled, the October 2026 GSTR-2B is generated only after that return is filed and the recipient uses Compute GSTR-2B on the IMS dashboard. QRMP recipients do not get a monthly GSTR-2B for October.
QRMP taxpayers face an earlier practical date. Their July to September 2026 GSTR-3B was due on October 22 or 24, 2026, depending on the State, and the October to December return is filed in January 2027, after the cut-off. If that quarterly return is still unfiled, it may be the last chance to claim pending FY 2025-26 credit.
QRMP suppliers can report an October 2026 credit note in the October IFF by November 13, 2026. Whether this is enough for section 34(2), given that the tax adjustment is made only in the quarterly return in January 2027, should be confirmed with your adviser.
Countdown checklist for November 2026
Days 1 to 10: reconcile and list gaps
Download GSTR-2B for April 2025 to September 2026 and match it with the FY 2025-26 purchase register.
List invoices in the books but missing from GSTR-2B, supplier by supplier, with GSTIN and amount.
Check rule 37A: for ITC availed during FY 2025-26, if the supplier had not filed the GSTR-3B for the period in which it reported the invoice by September 30, 2026, that ITC must be reversed by November 30, 2026. It can be reclaimed once the supplier files.
List year-end discount and rate-difference credit notes still to be issued or received.
Days 11 to 14: chase suppliers and act in IMS
Ask suppliers to report missing invoices in their October 2026 GSTR-1 by November 11, 2026, or in IFF by November 13, 2026.
Review records in the Invoice Management System. Items kept pending do not flow into that month's GSTR-2B, and from the October 2025 tax period a credit note can be kept pending for one tax period only. Rejecting a supplier's credit note raises the supplier's liability in its next GSTR-3B.
Check the October 2026 GSTR-2B on November 14, 2026 and confirm the corrected entries appear.
Days 15 to 30: claim, reverse and stop
Claim all eligible FY 2025-26 ITC in the October 2026 GSTR-3B by November 20, 2026.
Report rule 37A reversals and credit note reversals in the same return.
Do not file the FY 2025-26 GSTR-9 before all ITC is claimed, as filing it closes the window.
GSTR-2B reconciliation year end: common mistakes
Relying on the books alone. Section 16(2)(aa) and rule 36(4) allow credit only when the supplier has reported the invoice and it appears in GSTR-2B, so a correct ledger entry is not enough.
Waiting for November 30. An October GSTR-1 filed after November 11, 2026, or an IFF after November 13, 2026, reaches the November GSTR-2B, which comes too late for FY 2025-26 credit.
Filing GSTR-9 early. The earlier of the two dates applies, so an early annual return ends the claim period on that day.
Ignoring rule 37A. Unreversed credit on unfiled supplier returns becomes payable with interest under section 50.
Treating credit notes as one-sided. Where the recipient has availed the credit, the supplier's tax is reduced only after the recipient reverses it.
Did you know? Section 16(4) time limit facts
Did you know? Before October 1, 2022, the cut-off in sections 16(4) and 34(2) was the due date of the September return. The Finance Act, 2022 moved it to November 30 with effect from October 1, 2022.
The same November 30 limit applies to correcting GSTR-1 under section 37(3) and GSTR-3B under section 39(9). The FY 2025-26 GSTR-9 is due on December 31, 2026 under rule 80, but taxpayers whose aggregate turnover for FY 2025-26 is up to INR 2,00,00,000/- are exempt from filing it, and FORM GSTR-9C applies only above INR 5,00,00,000/-.
Key takeaways
Cut-off: November 30, 2026, or the annual return date if earlier.
Monthly filers: the October 2026 GSTR-3B is the practical last return.
QRMP filers: the practical window may already have closed.
The November 1, 2026 amendment does not change the time limit.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ITC claim last date for FY 2025-26?
It is November 30, 2026, or the date the FY 2025-26 annual return is filed, if earlier. The credit must be claimed in a GSTR-3B filed by then.
What is the credit note time limit under GST for FY 2025-26 supplies?
A credit note for a FY 2025-26 supply must be declared by November 30, 2026, or the date of the annual return, whichever is earlier. It goes in the return for the month in which it is issued.
Can ITC missed in GSTR-2B be claimed after November 30, 2026?
No. Section 16(4) blocks credit on FY 2025-26